Leaking heater core?

[baksa]

Hi guys,

lately i've been smelling something from ducts when I turn heating on, and my car is slowly loosing coolant from time to time. From what I've read here, it could be leaking heater core.
How could I exactly tell if it is so, and where my carpet should be wet if core is leaking?
Also how do you get to the heater core? From inside or from engine bay?
I should also tell that my engine is OK, there are no signs of water in oil and there is no white smoke from exhaust even on high RPM (so I hope it's not head gasket...).

If anyone worked on this please reply.

Thanks.

[DaveVoorhis]

If the core is leaking badly, coolant will drizzle down the carpet on both sides of the console roughly between the shifter and the pedals. However, it can pool in the heater box and evaporate for a while before it gets bad enough to dampen the carpets. If you smell coolant, are losing coolant, and the windscreen is greasy or doesn't defrost very well, it's almost definitely the heater core or the o-rings that seal the coolant pipes to the core.

To get at the core you have to remove the console and partially disassemble the heater box. It's a tedious job, but not difficult.

[shogun]

Do you have aircondition or only a heating system?
That is a vital point how long it would take to change the heater core.
There have been many reports about heater core changes.
But first ofall, aircondition yes or not?

Remove the covers at the side of the center console and check if you see stains of coolant on pipes and other parts.
It could even come from some parts in the engine room, the smell I mean as well as the leak.
Heater core is changed from inside.

and what do you mean by loosing coolant from time to time?
1 litre per 100 km or 1000 km?

[baksa]

Do you have aircondition or only a heating system?
That is a vital point how long it would take to change the heater core.
There have been many reports about heater core changes.
But first ofall, aircondition yes or not?

Remove the covers at the side of the center console and check if you see stains of coolant on pipes and other parts.
It could even come from some parts in the engine room, the smell I mean as well as the leak.
Heater core is changed from inside.

and what do you mean by loosing coolant from time to time?
1 litre per 100 km or 1000 km?

It' more like 1 litre per 1000 km aproximatly.
I do have aircondition but older type, not auto A/C like my brother on 1995. 520i. But with heating, I ment that I turn on heating without turning on the aircondition.

[Robin-535im]

Hi guys,

lately i've been smelling something from ducts when I turn heating on, and my car is slowly loosing coolant from time to time. From what I've read here, it could be leaking heater core.
How could I exactly tell if it is so, and where my carpet should be wet if core is leaking?
Also how do you get to the heater core? From inside or from engine bay?
I should also tell that my engine is OK, there are no signs of water in oil and there is no white smoke from exhaust even on high RPM (so I hope it's not head gasket...).

If anyone worked on this please reply.

Thanks.

One telltale sign is a fog on the inside windows that does not clear up with the defroster - you have to wipe it with a cloth. The coolant condenses on the glass and will not evaporate with dry air. Carpet may not be wet unless it's a big leak.

You get to it from inside the cabin - it's behind the center console. Takes a lot of unscrewing fasteners and removing of plastic pieces. You can probably leave the pipes in (they go from the core through the firewall to the valve in the engine bay) and just swap out the core and the o-rings where the pipes clamp into the core.

HTH

- Robin

[sharkhog]

Can a heater core leak come from under the vehicle? I thought I smelled coolant a few times in the car AFTER using the heater. Yet I get a nice stream of leakage coming from under the car, looks to be coming from the middle of the engine against the firewall maybe.

[Jehu]

Cchek the auxiliary water pump under the water/heater valves. This was leaking fron the seal on mine and i only saw it coming out wheile the car was running and i looked there... i had a small telescoping angle adjustable mirror. easy to replace costs around $140.00usd